My Way to VCP NV

Rob Maas

Dec 3, 2014 2 min read

Today I passed the VCP-NV exam. It was my first VMware exam and it was my second try. The first one was directly after the “VMware NSX: Install Configure and Manage” course and I really didn’t know what to expect, but with the discount given to do the exam at VMworld (Barcelona) I thought let’s give it a shot. Unfortunately I came just a few points short of passing the exam at that time, but it gave me an good idea about what I could expect the next time. Below you will find my tips and resources to make a good chance of passing the exam.

Get a decent understanding of NSX and its components.
- If you have any chance follow the course (install, configure, manage), it will give you good introduction and understanding of the whole NSX environment.
- It is also a good idea to do the “Hands On Lab” and you don’t necessary have to follow the lab!
- Make sure to study the (draft) design guide very well, it will cover all the important aspects. The first official version of the guide is (imo) very limited.
Make sure that you also know the features of the vSphere standard switches and even more importantly the vSphere distributed switches. Also know which features came with which version of vCenter, something which is important. One of my shortcomings in the first attempt For this although I’m just halfway, the book “ networking for VMware administrators” is really a recommendation!
Make sure you know the upgrade paths, especially of vCNS, VMware will test thorough on this. Also one of my shortcomings in the first attempt
Make sure you know VMware recommendations, especially for the physical architecture. e.g. L3 leaf/spine architecture.
At the actual test, make sure to read the questions and answers very well, sometimes it is in the minor details which defines the correct or best answer.